1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a mining system using a mobile continuous haulage vehicle to transport mined material, the discharge end of the vehicle being carried on a roadway which interacts with a beltway in a manner facilitating the addition of belt sections of the belt conveyor supported on the beltway.
2. Summary of the Prior Art
There have been various attempts to develop mobile equipment to transport material from a continuous miner to the panel belt for removal from the mine. U.S. Pat. No. 4,476,975 discloses a conveyor system adapted to be suspended from an overhead monorail and has a feed end for receiving material from a conventional means and a discharge end over the panel belt. Commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 4,784,257 also discloses such a material transport system. U.S. Pat. No. 3,422,949 discloses a wheel mounted mobile conveyor for transporting mined material from the miner to a belt conveyor.
Other methods of conveying the coal from the miner to the panel belt include conveyor units supporting a conveyor belt which transports the mined material. U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,932,897 and 1,999,932 illustrate this general type of mining scheme.